Retreats and rhetoric

AS has become his accustomed practice, President Goodluck Jonathan recently hosted a presidential retreat on sports development. The occasion, which brought together many of Nigeria’s best-known sports administrators, coaches, sponsors, journalists and other stakeholders, was aimed at taking a comprehensive look at the state of the country’s sports, especially its talent-development processes, infrastructural deficiencies and funding issues.

In the light of Nigeria’s relatively poor outings in international sports tournaments, as well as its unsavoury reputation for age-cheating, the utilisation of mercenaries and other unethical practices, there can be no doubt that there is a pressing need for the country to take a hard look at its sports.

To that extent, President Jonathan is right to convene a sports retreat. The assemblage of the major players in one location provides a valuable opportunity for them to speak frankly with one another, and to discuss problems and solutions in the presence of those who have the authority to enforce whatever remedial measures may be proposed.

However, while there is no problem with the convening of retreats as a strategy, there are several difficulties with ensuring that they are put to effective use. Since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999, there have been several presidential retreats on issues as diverse as agriculture, education, the aviation sector, the economy and security. Papers have been delivered, worthy sentiments have been expressed, and lofty goals have been set. Yet, very little has been achieved in reality. The aviation retreat, for instance, proposed several far-reaching measures designed to improve safety standards and the sector’s economic viability, but recent tragedies have exposed how little was really done.

In a manner similar to the conveners of previous retreats, President Jonathan has expressed his determination to ensure that Nigeria “rules the world” in sports. The president’s ambitious vision involves the country attaining sports supremacy in Africa and ranking among the top four in the Commonwealth of Nations, on its way to global sporting domination.

It is gratifying that the nation’s leader should be so bold. It apparently expresses an unshakeable faith in the ability of Nigeria to achieve these targets. The trouble is that the president has spoken in similar tones before. During the presidential election campaigns of 2011, he promised to transform the country; more recently, he promised a definitive end to the Boko Haram insurgency in June 2012. Not only have such promises failed to materialise, there is little evidence that his administration is even taking coherent steps towards the fulfilment of his pledges.

Jonathan’s forthright statements on sports are likely to encounter a similar gap between announcement and action. In spite of all the useful ideas that were mooted at the retreat, there is nothing to show that the Federal Government is beginning to tackle the roots of under-performance in sports.

It has not, for example, started to address the pervasive corruption and lack of transparency that has enriched administrators and impoverished athletes. The Nigerian Football Federation and other sports federations are continually embroiled in financial scandals which are almost never resolved. The audited accounts of the country’s disastrous outing at the 2012 London Olympics are yet to be released publicly, despite the controversy over how an estimated N2.6 billion was spent to prosecute it.

Victory in the sporting arena is the end-result of dedication and competence. All the speeches in the world will count for nothing if the Jonathan administration does not realise this fact and act accordingly.